Tea Party Patriots National Coordinator Jenny Beth Martin joins other members of the Tea Party outside the U.S. Supreme Court during the third day of oral arguements over the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act March 28, 2012 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

(CNN) - President Barack Obama telephoned key congressional leaders on Wednesday, including the top Republican in both the House and Senate, an Obama official told reporters traveling with the president.

He placed the calls "to talk about the legislative agenda for the remainder of the year" and discuss the message that he believed voters sent on Tuesday, according to a statement on the calls provided to the reporters.FULL POST

New York (CNNMoney) - Climate change is once again a hot topic in the Untied States.

Hurricane Sandy brought the issue back into the spotlight just days before the presidential election. Pundits were quick to note the irony of a massive superstorm striking after three presidential debates that didn't mention climate change once.

(CNN) – An outspoken Republican moderate, Meghan McCain took to Twitter to express frustration with her party following a less-than-stellar night for the GOP.

"I don't need to do any soul searching about what the GOP is doing wrong, I knew what was wrong four years ago when my father lost. #evolve," she wrote on Twitter Wednesday morning after Republican nominee Mitt Romney was projected to lose the election to President Barack Obama Tuesday night and Congress would remain with Republicans controlling the House and Democrats the Senate.FULL POST

(CNN) - Rep. Paul Ryan, who lost the election for vice president but was re-elected to his seat in the U.S. House, released the following statement Wednesday about the outcome of the 2012 contest:

"I am immensely proud of the campaign we ran, and I remain grateful to Governor Romney for the honor of being his running mate. I look forward to spending some time with my family in the coming days and then continuing my responsibilities as chairman of the House Budget Committee and representative of Wisconsin's First Congressional District."

(CNN) – Rep. Tammy Baldwin, who won the open U.S. Senate seat in Wisconsin, will become the first openly gay member of the upper chamber. Asked Wednesday by CNN's Soledad O'Brien if she plans to pursue an agenda fighting for lesbian and gay causes, Baldwin said she hopes to see "change that will move us forward," but added the issue did not define her campaign.

"If you're not in the room the conversation is about you; if you're in the room the conversation is with you–and that does transform things. But as I said last night, I didn't run to make history. I ran to make a difference," Baldwin said, adding that her campaign focus was on the middle class, security benefits for seniors, and veterans issues.

Baldwin defeated former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson in a closely-watched race to fill the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Herb Kohl, a Democrat.